Warrants: Rape suspects claim sex was consensual

Published: Friday, December 21, 2012 at 2:40 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 21, 2012 at 2:40 p.m.

Update

Recent court documents show that Tyler Scott Garren was 16 at the time this story was originally published.

Four high school students accused of raping a classmate at a party this month contend the sex was consensual, according to search warrants released today, while the victim says she was passed out on a couch.

The four East Henderson High students are charged with felony second-degree rape. The warrants say photographic evidence of the crime may still be circulating, and investigators are now seeking those images.

The victim, who is 16, told investigators with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office that she was in and out of consciousness while three of her classmates raped her at the party, where alcohol was consumed. All four of the suspects told detectives that they had sex with the victim, but said it was consensual, according to the warrants.

The State Bureau of Investigation has taken the lead on the case because the incident is alleged to have occurred at Garren's home. Garren is the son of a sheriff's deputy, who was out of town that weekend tending to his younger son, Hunter Garren, who was hospitalized several hours away. Hunter Garren was seriously injured in an RTV accident this summer.

No adults were present at the time of the incident, according to Capt. Frank Stout.

Arrest warrants issued for the boys Wednesday allege they sexually abused a female who was “mentally incapacitated and physically helpless.”

The victim told investigators that Garren called her on Dec. 8 and invited her to his house. “Garren arranged to have Matt Bishop and Wess Ponder come to pick her up and bring her to Garren's residence,” where all four suspects were drinking alcohol, according to a search warrant.

The victim told investigators that she “passed out on the couch” and awoke three different times to find her clothes removed and Bishop, Garren, and then Ponder having intercourse with her.

The victim told detectives that she “never consented to having sex with anyone and that she had her clothes on when she passed out.”

SBI Special Agent R.V. Williams interviewed Garren, Curto, Bishop and Ponder on Dec. 12, a day after the Sheriff's Office learned about the party from rumors overheard at a high school basketball game.

“During the interview, all admitted to having sex with (the victim) and stated that she consented to have sex with them,” according to the warrant. “From interviews it was determined that Tyler Garren and Wess Ponder used their cellular telephones and took naked pictures of (the victim). Interviews determined that the photographs were taken without (her) permission.”

Investigators say the photos were deleted from Garren's and Ponder's phones, after being “shown to several students” at school while school was in session.

“Interviews also determined that Garren, Ponder, Curto and Bishop have been in contact with each other on their cellular telephones through text messages discussing the sexual encounter” with the victim, according to the search warrant. “All have admitted to erasing the text messages from their cellular telephones before their telephones were turned over to law enforcement.”

Garren's father, Jason Garren, turned his son's iPod over to detectives. Williams said the devices are “capable of holding large amounts of data to include sent and received text message content, sent and received picture messages, contact information, photographs and video clips.”

In the warrants, Williams noted that with “proper forensic investigation tools, deleted data can often be recovered through a forensic search” of the device.

Investigators seized cellphones from each of the four suspects and issued search warrants for records of each device's incoming and outgoing calls, text messages, video messages, picture messages and contact lists.

All four are scheduled for probable-cause hearings on Jan. 11. In court Wednesday morning, Garren's attorney Roy Neill filed a waiver for his client's first appearance. Ponder told Judge Mack Brittain that he would hire his own attorney. Bishop and Curto were granted public defenders.

Second-degree rape is a Class C felony. If convicted, the teens face a minimum of 17-and-a-half years to a maximum of 21 years and 9 months in the Department of Corrections.

Anyone with information that may pertain to the East High investigation, including anyone who may have seen images of the act, is asked to contact the Henderson County Sheriff's Office at 828-697-4911.

<p><b>Update</b></p><p><i>Recent court documents show that Tyler Scott Garren was 16 at the time this story was originally published.</i></p><p>Four high school students accused of raping a classmate at a party this month contend the sex was consensual, according to search warrants released today, while the victim says she was passed out on a couch. </p><p>The four East Henderson High students are charged with felony second-degree rape. The warrants say photographic evidence of the crime may still be circulating, and investigators are now seeking those images.</p><p>The victim, who is 16, told investigators with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office that she was in and out of consciousness while three of her classmates raped her at the party, where alcohol was consumed. All four of the suspects told detectives that they had sex with the victim, but said it was consensual, according to the warrants.</p><p>Charged are Tyler Scott Garren, 17, of 140 Cow House Rd., Hendersonville; James Matthew Bishop, 16, of 16 Wildwood Forest Ln., Mills River; Vincent Joseph Curto, 17, of 687 Oak Grove Rd., Flat Rock; and Justin Wesley Ponder, 17, of 85 Relaxing View Dr., Fletcher. </p><p>The State Bureau of Investigation has taken the lead on the case because the incident is alleged to have occurred at Garren's home. Garren is the son of a sheriff's deputy, who was out of town that weekend tending to his younger son, Hunter Garren, who was hospitalized several hours away. Hunter Garren was seriously injured in an RTV accident this summer. </p><p>No adults were present at the time of the incident, according to Capt. Frank Stout.</p><p>Arrest warrants issued for the boys Wednesday allege they sexually abused a female who was “mentally incapacitated and physically helpless.”</p><p>The victim told investigators that Garren called her on Dec. 8 and invited her to his house. “Garren arranged to have Matt Bishop and Wess Ponder come to pick her up and bring her to Garren's residence,” where all four suspects were drinking alcohol, according to a search warrant. </p><p>The victim told investigators that she “passed out on the couch” and awoke three different times to find her clothes removed and Bishop, Garren, and then Ponder having intercourse with her. </p><p>The victim told detectives that she “never consented to having sex with anyone and that she had her clothes on when she passed out.”</p><p>SBI Special Agent R.V. Williams interviewed Garren, Curto, Bishop and Ponder on Dec. 12, a day after the Sheriff's Office learned about the party from rumors overheard at a high school basketball game. </p><p>“During the interview, all admitted to having sex with (the victim) and stated that she consented to have sex with them,” according to the warrant. “From interviews it was determined that Tyler Garren and Wess Ponder used their cellular telephones and took naked pictures of (the victim). Interviews determined that the photographs were taken without (her) permission.”</p><p>Investigators say the photos were deleted from Garren's and Ponder's phones, after being “shown to several students” at school while school was in session.</p><p>“Interviews also determined that Garren, Ponder, Curto and Bishop have been in contact with each other on their cellular telephones through text messages discussing the sexual encounter” with the victim, according to the search warrant. “All have admitted to erasing the text messages from their cellular telephones before their telephones were turned over to law enforcement.”</p><p>Garren's father, Jason Garren, turned his son's iPod over to detectives. Williams said the devices are “capable of holding large amounts of data to include sent and received text message content, sent and received picture messages, contact information, photographs and video clips.”</p><p>In the warrants, Williams noted that with “proper forensic investigation tools, deleted data can often be recovered through a forensic search” of the device.</p><p>Investigators seized cellphones from each of the four suspects and issued search warrants for records of each device's incoming and outgoing calls, text messages, video messages, picture messages and contact lists.</p><p>All four are scheduled for probable-cause hearings on Jan. 11. In court Wednesday morning, Garren's attorney Roy Neill filed a waiver for his client's first appearance. Ponder told Judge Mack Brittain that he would hire his own attorney. Bishop and Curto were granted public defenders.</p><p>Second-degree rape is a Class C felony. If convicted, the teens face a minimum of 17-and-a-half years to a maximum of 21 years and 9 months in the Department of Corrections.</p><p>Anyone with information that may pertain to the East High investigation, including anyone who may have seen images of the act, is asked to contact the Henderson County Sheriff's Office at 828-697-4911. </p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>